Cellular telecommunications networks utilize base stations, which provide access for mobile devices (sometimes called User Equipments or UEs) to the telecommunications core network (often called simply “core network”). For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) maintains standards for Long Term Evolution (LTE), otherwise known as 4G or 4G LTE, as well as LTE base stations, called eNodeBs. As well, 3GPP maintains and develops standards for the Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS, or “3G”), as well as the forthcoming 5G standard and other standards. These cellular access networks are supported by network nodes in the core network, which provide management functions for the base stations, mobility for the attached mobile devices, and data routing and bandwidth for the attached mobile devices. As telecom operators grapple with the increasing demand for mobile network services, a need exists to scale the speed and throughput of these networks, as well as scaling the speed and throughput of the network nodes in the core networks themselves.
Telecom service providers typically have large data centers hosting different nodes from different vendors, each having its own hardware, software and network requirements. The virtual functions provided by telecom nodes typically are high on network I/O for user traffic; high on CPU for packet processing; and require complex network designs. As well, existing nodes are either based on individual COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) rack-mountable servers, developed in such a way as to be tied to specific virtualization environments, or based on specific/proprietary hardware platforms like the ATCA chassis-based platforms, etc., where the software is specifically tailored and designed to run in such environments.
As well, in recent years, telecom operators have begun to seek out the advantages of hardware virtualization and network function virtualization. Virtualization refers to the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer network resources; with reference to the data center, virtualization enables the creation of a virtual machine or virtual network device that acts like a real computer, but is operating on software that is executing separate from the underlying hardware resources. At least in theory, such an approach promises increased scalability, upgradeability, efficiency, availability, and reliability.